That’s where we will leave our coverage for tonight. Thanks for sticking with us. The last update we received from ESA was that there was no change from the advice it issued at 10pm, namely that there is no immediate threat to properties in Canberra, but there are spot fires threatening Tharwa.

For those in affected areas, please follow updates from the ACT Emergency Services Agency on Twitter and Facebook.

Spot fires threaten Tharwa, warnings for Canberra's south

We’ve just moved past 10.20pm, so let’s take recap on the events of the evening:

an out-of-control bushfire burning in the mountainous Namadgi National Park, south of Canberra, has almost quadrupled in size in a single day, threatening the small village of Tharwa, and prompting warnings to residents of the city’s southernmost suburbs.

at 10pm, the fire was about 8,106 hectares in size. It was 2,581 hectares at 12.30pm.

the fire was ignited yesterday by a military helicopter conducting surveillance, which was using landing lights to safely land in the smoky conditions in the Orroral Valley, in Namadgi. The landing light created enough heat to start a grass fire, which quickly spread out of control.

spot fires are starting well ahead of the main fire front. At one point, they were igniting 5kms ahead of the front. The fire was behaving erratically and had created its own weather system.

Flames atop the mountains were clearly visible to residents across the city, prompting widespread concern, particularly for those who lived through the 2003 disaster. Authorities said the fires that could be seen were spot fires, rather than the main fire front.

Properties were under threat in Tharwa, 10 minutes south of Canberra’s southernmost suburb, where fire crews were attempting to put out spot fires. Residents there were told to evacuate about 4pm. They were told it was too late to leave about 4.30pm. The advice remains that residents in Tharwa shelter and do not attempt to drive. Firefighters are on scene.

Firefighters were also deployed into Canberra’s southernmost suburb ofBanks as a precaution. Containment lines were being constructed to protect the southern suburbs and doorknocking was taking place to communicate reliable information to residents in Banks, Conder, and Gordon.

At 10pm, there was no immediate threat to homes in Canberra. But the advice warned residents in Banks, Conder, and Gordon to activate their bushfire survival plans, pack up essentials, and closely monitor conditions. Residents in Calwell and Theodore were told to monitor conditions.

An easterly change brought stronger wind gusts to the fireground a short time ago. The change caused wind gusts of up to 45km/h. Those winds were expected to remain for an hour or two, before subsiding and bringing cooler temperatures and increased humidity, which will aid the firefighting effort.

Military surveillance aircraft continue to monitor the fire and provide intelligence to emergency services about the movement of the fire and any threat to homes.

Authorities do not expect the fire to be put out by Friday, when hot temperatures and winds will return.

Evacuation centres have been set up at Erindale College in Wanniassa and Dickson College in the inner-north. Exhibition Park is also open and can be used to store horses.

Heavy smoke is expected tonight. It will linger until tomorrow and possibly longer. ACT Health issued an alert and urged people not to engage in unnecessary physical activity.

The easterly change we mentioned earlier is currently hitting the fireground. It is bringing with it wind gusts of 45km/h.

This will be the strongest winds we will see for the rest of the evening. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Rebecca Tamitakahara is speaking to the ABC right now.

We are still seeing those gusty winds for an hour or so following the change, but we are then expecting to see those conditions ease back. Temperatures are expected to drop to the early 20s, and they are expected to drop further into the night, into the teens.

We mentioned a little earlier that this fire will not be put out before Friday. Tamitakahara gives us a taste of the worsening conditions in the latter half of this week and on the weekend. Winds will also pick back up.

We do have another cold front approaching NSW and the ACT later this week and this weekend. What that means is we will see those warm temperatures persist and get even hotter, particularly on Friday and Saturday.

Thomas O'Brien (@TJ__OBrien)

Pretty scary scenes tonight, and clearly triggering a lot of trauma longer term residents have from the 2003 fires. What a shit of a summer. Photo credit: Josh Cox pic.twitter.com/nK5ooLOEyG

The ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner, Georgeina Whelan, is speaking now. She says the fires visible to Canberrans are not the main fire front. They are spot fires, which are well ahead of the main front.

She assures residents that aviation assets remain airborne and are keeping a close eye on the front.

For our residents in Banks, Conder and Gordon, you may have already received a doorknock from SES, ACT Policing, or a defence member. That is not to trigger an evacuation. The doorknock is to remain engaged with our community, provide you with advice, and respond to any questions you may have.

This shot from a little earlier, as the sun went down, paints a scary picture. The ridgeline is ablaze.

Tegan Osborne (@tegan_osborne)

A lot of people up on Mount Rogers in Canberra's north, watching the Orroral Valley Fire getting closer. This was taken at 8.50pm. No filter, just the sunset out of shot to the right. pic.twitter.com/LXyELYkbk3

A reminder, though, that there is a fair bit of country between the mountains and Canberra’s southern fringes. The ESA says there is no current threat to properties in Canberra, only in Tharwa, the village in the foothills, where spotting is occurring.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has urged Canberrans to stay safe, while noting Australian defence force personnel are helping local firefighters.

An interesting aside, Morrison is speaking at the National PressClubtomorrow. An auspicious time for him to be speaking. I do hope he fields some pointed questions about the fire that will be still raging about 40 minutes to the south of the NPC, and the many others that have marked this unprecedented fire season.

Fire will be active until Friday: fire chief

Joe Murphy, the ACT’s rural fire service chief, said the gusty conditions brought by the easterly change this evening will enliven the far western side of the fire, which is in the rugged terrain near Orroral Valley. But he warns:

It is very dry out there. This is a heavily timbered area. This is a very dangerous fire for our firefighters and we will not be compromising their safety to fight this fire.

Murphy said the greatest concern remains with the village of Tharwa. But he said a firefighting strike team is at the village, as is a dozer, and a military aircraft is helping to provide surveillance.

He said the fire will still be going on Thursday and Friday, when elevated fire dangers will hit the ACT with high temperatures and stronger winds.

That is not good news. The forecast for Thursday is 37C and Friday is 40C.

The latest emergency warning from the ACT Emergency Services Agency says the fire is starting to spot near Tharwa village.

It is now 7,912 hectares in size. That means it’s more than doubled in size today. The situation remains the same for those in the southern suburbs of Canberra (Banks, Conder and Gordon). You should activate your bushfire plans and monitor conditions closely.

Residents in Tharwa, a small village 10 minutes south of the southernmost Canberra suburb, have been urged to shelter in the face of the emergency-level fire. The latest information suggests spot fires are igniting near Tharwa.

Residents in Banks and Gordon are being told to activate their bushfire survival plans and closely monitor information from emergency services.

We’ve just had a brief update from the Bureau of Meteorology. Canberra will experience a wind change in the next hour or two. An easterly is going to come through. That will make things difficult on the fire ground.

The change is expected to bring wind gusts up to 35km/h to 40km/h.

“It hasn’t quite reached the fire ground yet ... but it is expected to move through in the next hour,” meteorologist Rebecca Kamitakahara told the ABC. “As we go later into the evening we will see those winds slow back, and the humidity increase.”

There is some good news. The change will bring lower temperatures.

“Following that we will see an easing trend in the winds through the night and they will become quite light into the morning,” Kamitakahara said.

Tomorrow, temperatures will hit about 36C. But the wind will not be quite as severe, so the fire conditions should ease.